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US stocks stable as market eyes regional banks

Asian markets drop as US jobs data stoke recession fears
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Wall Street stocks were little changed early Friday following the prior day’s losses as markets monitored the latest on US regional banks and trade relations between Beijing and Washington.

Weakness in regional banks had weighed on US stocks Thursday after Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance disclosed an expected hit from problem loans, adding to worries about the broader banking industry.

About 40 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 percent at 46,065.46.

The broad-based S&P 500 was up less than 0.1 percent at 6,631.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.1 percent to 22,545.76.

“Concerns over lenders have been growing recently, particularly following the bankruptcies of two large companies linked to the auto sector, First Brands and Tricolor Holdings,” said David Morrison of Trade Nation.

But shares of both of those regional banks — along with most other peer companies — rose early Friday.

Markets are also monitoring the state of play between the United States and China following back-and-forth trade rhetoric in recent days.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to speak Friday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, a senior official from President Donald Trump’s administration told AFP.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.

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